China's Special Administrative Regions (SARs)

China has two special administrative regions, Hong Kong (Xianggang in Putonghua)
and Macau (Aomen in Putonghua).

As a result of the First Anglo- Chinese War (1842), China ceded Hong Kong Island
to the United Kingdom under the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842. In 1860 the British
acquired in perpetuity the Kowloon (Jiulong) Peninsula under the Convention
of Beijing. The remaining area, the New Territories, was leased for 99 years
in 1898. The Sino-British Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong was
signed between the Chinese and British Governments in 1984. The entire colony
was returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 as the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region (SAR).

Although originally the 1,092-square-kilometer area was part of Guangdong Province,
the Hong Kong SAR reports directly to the State Council in Beijing. The head
of state of Hong Kong is the president of China, Hu Jintao. The head of government
is a Beijing appointee, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa. Hong Kong, with an estimated
6,940,432 people (as of July 2006), has a partly popularly elected legislature
and operates under the Basic Law, which embodies the principle of “one
country, two systems” and states that the socialist system and policies
shall not be practiced in Hong Kong; Hong Kong’s previous capitalist system
and lifestyle are to remain unchanged until 2047.

The Basic Law of the Hong Kong SAR was adopted on April 4, 1990, by the National
People’s Congress (NPC) and came into effect on July 1, 1997.

Chinese and English are the official languages of Hong Kong.

The area that has come to be called Macau had been a maritime way station between
China and India and regions farther west since the early sixteenth century.
Portugal first obtained a leasehold on the area from the Qing court in 1557,
although China retained sovereignty. In 1844, without Beijing’s concurrence,
Lisbon made Macau an overseas province of Portugal. Although China recognized
Macau as a Portuguese colony in an 1862 treaty signed with Portugal, the treaty
was never ratified by China, and Macau was never officially ceded to Portugal.

A protocol dealing with relations between China and Portugal was signed in
Lisbon in 1887 confirming the “perpetual occupation and government”
of Macau by Portugal (with Portugal’s promise “never to alienate
Macau and dependencies without agreement with China”). The islands of
Taipa and Coloane also were ceded to Portugal, but the border of the Macau Peninsula
with the mainland was not delimited. The Treaty of Commerce and Friendship (1888)
recognized Portuguese sovereignty over Macau but again was never actually ratified
by China. In 1974 the new Portuguese government granted independence to all
overseas colonies and recognized Macau as part of China's territory. In 1979
China and Portugal exchanged diplomatic recognition, and Beijing acknowledged
Macau as “Chinese territory under Portuguese administration.” A
joint communiqué signed in 1986 called for negotiations on the Macau
question, and four rounds of talks followed between June 30, 1986, and March
26, 1987.

The Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau was signed in Beijing on April
13, 1987, setting the stage for the return of Macau to full Chinese sovereignty
as a special administrative region on December 20, 1999. Although originally
the now 28.2-square-kilometer area was part of Guangdong Province, the Macau
SAR reports directly to the State Council in Beijing. Macau’s head of
state is the president of China. The head of government is a Beijing appointee,
Chief Executive Edmund H.W. Ho. Macau, numbering an estimated 453,125 people
(in July 2006), also has a partly popularly elected legislature and operates
under the Basic Law of the Macau SAR, adopted by the NPC in 1993 and taking
effect on December 20, 1999.

Like the Basic Law of the Hong Kong SAR, Macau’s basic law covers the
relationship between the central government and Macau; the fundamental rights
and duties of the residents; the political structure; the economy and cultural
and social affairs; external affairs; and the amendment process. Chinese and
Portuguese are the official languages of Macau.